Good Bye, January Blues
by CeriseBelle
Summary: Sometimes one day can change everything . . .
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1** **-** **January 21st 2009**

 _ **Rory**_

Rory Gilmore sat upright in the armchair of her hotel room, tapping her feet. It was 9pm but she couldn't sit still. It was freezing cold outside, yet there she was, a ball of energy, wearing only a tank top and shorts whilst somehow, miraculously, maintaining a level of warmth. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins. It had been one hell of a year. After months of work and months of travelling, yesterday, she had seen with her own eyes that everything that she and her team had put into the campaign trail had all been worth it. She had witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama.

As far as Rory was concerned, there was only one way to describe that experience; pure magic.

However, now, it was all over and Rory couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept properly for months in fact. Her lifestyle over the past year or so had not really allowed for a regular sleep pattern. She was out of a routine and still on a high. Her inability to sleep wouldn't have mattered too much this particular evening, if it wasn't for the fact that tomorrow, she was heading back to Stars Hollow. Stars Hollow!

Quite frankly, no amount of caffeine (and Rory sure enjoyed copious amounts of caffeine), would be enough to get her through tomorrow on zero sleep.

It wasn't that she didn't love Stars Hollow. She did. She was also incredibly excited to see her mom. However, alongside her excitement, Rory also felt a sense of dread. She was pretty sure that the town would, right at this moment, be planning an event so large to mark her return that when she arrived tomorrow afternoon, she would feel that she herself was being inaugurated! She also knew that returning meant returning to reality. The 'on the road' lifestyle of the past year would be long gone and she would be forced to confront her future. That was scary.

Rory needed sleep. That was the only thing about her future that she was sure of right now . . . and there was only one thing that she knew for certain meant that she would get it . . .


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2** **-** **January 21st 2009**

 **Jess**

Jess Mariano threw his phone down in a rage.

Up until the phone call he had just received, January 21st had been going pretty well for him. He wouldn't necessarily have classed it as a perfect day, but it had been more exciting than most, if a little exhausting at the same time.

He had left Philly bright and early that morning, to travel to his nation's capital, DC, where he had a meeting scheduled in the city with a new agent, regarding his latest novel. Jess had arrived at the Ronald Reagan airport, buzzing about the book. He had been buzzing about his book for months to be fair. It was his best yet and he was definitely proud of it. To add to his already positive mood, the second he had gotten out of his cab and set foot on the sidewalk in downtown DC, he had felt the inauguration magic in the air. The USA couldn't hope for a better president than Barack Obama. Jess' morning truly had been fantastic.

However, by 8pm that evening, exhaustion was starting to set in. Jess was still happy, there was no doubt about that. His meeting was nearing a close and he could tell that it had gone well. He was pleased. He had to admit though, he was also a little drained. He had, by this point, been cooped up inside an office all day, talking non stop. His agent was nice, he wouldn't deny her that compliment. She was a smiley and jovial soul. Nonetheless, she was still a virtual stranger to Jess and the endless chit chat had worn his reserved soul out. Anybody who knew Jess well, knew that, where he was concerned, small talk was not a strength. He had once even described himself by saying "the verbal thing, it comes and goes."

So, quite frankly, when Jess had finally reached his hotel for the night at 9pm that evening, his intentions had been to soak in the bath while watching CNN. He had planned to catch up on the inauguration highlights and not talk to anyone for at least 10 hours. The very, very, very last thing that Jess had wanted or needed at that point, was a phone call from his mother.

Oh, the pain. . . he had immediately regretted picking up. Why, why had he answered that phone?

The worst part was, it wasn't just a simple phone call either! Oh no, it was far more tragic than that. It was a phone call that included a very specific (and "urgent" according to Liz and TJ) request:

Jess had to return to Stars Hollow immediately.

It turned out, his sister, Doula, had wound up winning the Stars Hollow beauty pageant for kids. As a result, her photo had since been plastered all over town. There was even a life-size cardboard cutout of her on the gazebo in the square. The pageant had whipped everyone into such a frenzy that now, every time Liz or TJ opened their front door, there was somebody from the Stars Hollow Gazette (or Kirk), hanging around, stalking them like paparazzi, asking for their autographs and/or a selfie with the winning family! Apparently it had gotten way out of hand. In all honesty, it sounded like the usual Stars Hollow nonsense to Jess, but he could hear TJ screaming in the background that even Luke and Taylor were not man enough this time to be able to resolve it. And Liz (who had practically sobbed her way through the entire phone call), managed, in between the sobs, to repeat over and over again that she was "convinced" that the only thing that would scare everyone away, the only thing that had a chance of working and "saving" their family, would be a scowl from the bad boy that Stars Hollow loved to hate . . . Jess.

At first, Jess had flat out refused. He was not travelling for hours to sort out his mother's mess of a life, yet again. There was absolutely no way. Nope. Not happening.

However . . . after 20 minutes of her sobbing, he had realised that if he didn't help her, he would be adding extra stress onto his Uncle Luke's already stressful, diner owning/Lorelai pleasing life. Liz would no doubt then start sobbing to him about how terrible and cruel her son was. Jess knew that he would also be letting his sister down. He had spent his childhood dealing with Liz shaped crises. He didn't want her to have to go through too many of them.

So, with a heavy heart and a massive sigh, he had agreed . . . and with that, his entire plan for his evening had changed.

Forget CNN, inauguration magic and a bath. All he needed now, was sleep. There was no way that he would make it through an entire day in Stars Hollow tomorrow without at least 12 hours of hardcore beauty sleep. He wasn't even a fan of the good old caffeine that Luke dished out to his diners, so rest was the only option.

There was just one small problem . . .

After the phone call, Jess was no longer happy and buzzed. He was instead angry and anxious, and angry and anxious were not the best ingredients when it came to ensuring a good night's sleep. He tossed and turned for what felt like forever, but just could not feel himself relaxing in the slightest.

In the end, he'd had enough. He jumped out of bed and put on his coat. Jess knew that if he wanted to drift off now, there was only one way that he was going to be able to do it . . .


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** **-** **January 21st 2009**

 _ **Rory**_

Rory arrived at Barnes and Noble with 20 minutes to spare before closing time .

She had left her hotel in such an excited rush, so keen to get her hands on the only solution to her sleep deprivation. She had still been in a warm, fuzzy, adrenaline fueled state when leaving, therefore, it was only halfway through her journey to the bookstore that it had struck her; she was still in her tank top and shorts! The crazy looks that people had been giving her all the way through her journey suddenly made sense! After all, it was January. The snow on the sidewalk alluded to that. People must have thought that she was insane (maybe she was insane, she was so tired and yet strangely hyped, she wasn't sure if she even could tell at this point). She did suddenly feel the chill in the air though. Boy, it was cold!

Nonetheless, as soon as she stepped in through the revolving doors of the storefront, the usual magic happened. As she had done, her entire life, Rory immediately found the presence of the multiple bookshelves so comforting and warming, it was as though someone had lit a log fire for her. In fact, it was better.

Regardless of the joy she felt, however, there was no time to waste. She couldn't stand there, basking in the moment. She had a job to do and only 20 minutes to do it. So, Rory put all thoughts of Bronte, Austen and Dickens to the back of her mind and wound her way through the store's alphabetized bookshelves until she arrived at the one she was looking for; the shelf labelled "Authors - H".


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4** **-** **January 21st 2009**

 ** _Jess_**

Jess had deliberately chosen to stay in a hotel right down the road from a bookstore. He always tried to do that when travelling. Books were like his comfort blanket. Even during his early years, when his life had been a total mess, literature had been the one thing that had kept him (relatively) sane. Being surrounded by the voices and thoughts of the likes of Dickens, Tolstoy, Austen and Hemingway had always made him feel safe and protected somehow. Particularly those of Hemingway. He loved Hemingway. In fact, Hemingway came close to being the one true love of Jess' life so far . . .

Close.

It was the conveniently located bookstore that Jess had put his coat on in order to head to that night, after far too long tossing and turning in bed. He knew that it was the only place that he would be able to purchase his "sleeping pill" of choice.

He had arrived at the doors of the store just in time; they were closing in 30 minutes. He wouldn't have the hours that he would perhaps like, to fully immerse himself and create his own bookstore "bubble", but he would have more than enough time to find the required item _and_ perhaps even a little extra time for browsing too. Hemingway was, after all, calling him!

With that in mind, Jess had set straight to work upon entering the store. He was on a mission and within 10 mins of scouring the alphabetised bookshelves, it was mission complete. Jess had found what he had come for:

"The Fountanhead" by Ayn Rand.

He had stupidly thrown his copy out years ago, in a moment of pure teenage angst and frustration. However, he had regretted it ever since. He particularly regretted it on night's like this, when he was restless and couldn't sleep. His regret wasn't due to the fact that he enjoyed this particular book. That wasn't the case at all. In fact, he hated it. Truly hated it. The author was, as far as he could tell, totally crazy. She may even beat his mother in the crazy stakes. Or Lorelai come to think of it, and that was saying something! Nonetheless, it was a book that had many memories attached to it. It was a book that reminded Jess of one of the few periods in his life that was care-free and fun. It was also a book that reminded him of somebody important to him. Somebody whom he hadn't seen for a long while now. All in all, it was a book that gave him a weird sense of calm and tranquillity, yet was at the same time so very uninteresting that for sleeping purposes, it was a winner. The Fountainhead never failed to send him snoring. It was exactly what he needed right now.

Jess was so pleased when he had found it. He had checked his watch afterwards and become even more pleased to discover that he still had 20 minutes to go until closing time. Plenty of time to devour some Hemingway.

He had rounded the corner, following the alphabetised shelves again until this time, he had seen a sign for the shelf labelled "Authors - H". He had begun approaching said shelf until a vision in front of him had stopped him dead in his tracks . . .

There, crouching down on the floor, browsing through all of his favourite Hemingway classics, was an all too familiar girl. Her beautiful brown hair was swept over one shoulder, her bright blue eyes were squinting in concentration. She was for some unknown reason wearing a tank top and shorts - did she not realise that it was January? She looked freezing, yet warm at the same time - was that even possible? Was she even real? Jess pinched himself. He flinched. This wasn't a dream. She had to be real.

As she always had done, the girl in front of him had immediately taken his breath away. He wanted to go over and hug her, but he knew he couldn't. He hadn't seen her in nearly 3 years now and the last time they had met had been awkward and had not ended particularly well.

He had to do something though. He knew that he couldn't very well stand in the middle of Barnes and Noble, gawping forever.

So, he had walked very slowly in her direction, tiptoeing so as not to startle her. He had then very simply and oh so, coolly, crouched down alongside her, placed a hand on her shoulder and said softly, before she had even had a chance to look up:

"Ernest only has lovely things to say about you . . ."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5** **-** **January 21st 2009**

 _ **Rory**_

Rory gasped at the sound of a familiar voice behind her; a familiar voice, yet one she had not heard in a very long time. It was a deep voice. An unmistakable one. It had a slightly manlier pitch to it than it used to have perhaps, but it was unmistakable nonetheless.

"Jess?" she whispered.

"Mariano?" she added, her voice a little shaky, her heart beating faster all of a sudden.

"The one and only" came his reply, as their eyes met. "Although, exactly how many Jess' of the male variety do you know Gilmore?" he questioned with a smirk.

Rory smiled back but didn't respond. Instead, she took a moment to take him all in. The sight of him took her breath away. It had been a while.

He looked taller somehow, slightly more sure of himself than he had done as a teen. His brown eyes were as deep and thoughtful as ever, but he appeared to have a lighter, more relaxed air about him. He had acquired some facial hair, almost a beard, giving him a grown up (dare she say, sexy) edge. He looked amazing.

Yet the sight of him also brought back feelings of regret in Rory. Feelings she had hidden away whilst on the Obama job, but feelings that she could not ignore with him standing, all of a sudden, right in front of her. She had treated him terribly the last time that she had seen him; and she had never stopped beating herself up for it, but had also been too nervous to make the first move and apologise.

Now was her chance. She wasn't going to live with endless regrets anymore.

Before she could give it a second thought, Rory jumped up and flung her arms around his neck.

Jess was stunned. He lost the ability to think for a moment; so he opted instead to just hold onto her tight. This was not quite the reaction he had anticipated; though he certainly wasn't complaining.

They remained in that position for quite some time. Neither of them said anything; at least, not until Jess noticed tears falling onto his jacket and sobs emanating from Rory.

At that point, the silence had to be broken.

"Rory?" said Jess softly, "hey . . . Miss Yale . . . you're scaring me . . . " he paused. "I mean, first of all, I find you in the Hemingway section of a bookstore, I thought that was weird enough . . . but then, you start crying . . . in a BOOKSTORE; Crying, in your ultimate haven, your heaven! I mean, these are two things I never thought I'd witness from Rory Gilmore. . . so, where is she? What have you done with the real one?"

Rory chuckled, paused and then . . .

"She's here" came a soft, sniffly reply.

"She's . . . she's just really happy to see you . . . . and really, really sorry" she hesitated, tears falling again . . . "Sorry for everything Jess."

Her face rested on his shoulder and they both stayed put for a while. Neither knowing where to go from there. Yet, neither particularly wanting to move away.

Jess smelt the same as he always had done and memories of Rory's youth, of Stars Hollow, of innocence came flooding back to her. Rory really did miss home; and for all his flaws, she really had missed Jess.

Suddenly, both of them were pulled out of their trance by a sharp, shrill voiceover from a shop assistant, reminding shoppers that closing time was in two minutes.

They both sighed. Disappointed that their moment had been interrupted.

Eventually, Jess stepped in:

"Rory . . ." he said. Seeing as you appear to be dressed for summer . . . want to go find some ice cream?" he asked, a grin appearing on his face.

She grinned in return. "Cones?" she questioned.

"Always" he replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - January 22nd 2009

 _ **Lorelai and Luke**_

"Well hey there, fiancé of mine!" exclaimed Lorelai joyfully, beaming at Luke as she bounded through the doors of his diner. "You do realise that as far as I'm concerned, saying that is never going to get old don't you? I mean, I could just say it all day! Better than that, I could go tell it on the mountain! I could shout it from the rooftops! Fiancé! Fiancé! Fiancé! Boy, I can't wait to tell Rory!"

Luke smiled and planted a kiss on her lips as she reached his counter. "Good afternoon fiancée..." he greeted her, pulling her closer and whispering "...and just so you know, for the record... hearing you say that word... well, it's never gonna get old for me either; music to my ears Miss Gilmore."

At that, their lips met. They kissed again and got swept up in the moment for a second or two, forgetting that they were in a diner full of people; forgetting at least until the diner phone started ringing, at which Luke let out an almighty groan.

"One sec" he mouthed to Lorelai, reluctantly letting go of her and walking over to the phone. His reaction when he actually got to it surprised Lorelai somewhat though. Rather than actually speaking to the person on the other end, Luke picked it up to stop the ringing, but proceeded to slam it down, angrily and repeatedly.

"Woah there Mr!" cried Lorelai, rushing over to grab the phone from his hands. "Tell me please... what has that poor piece of plastic ever done to you?"

Luke sighed "It's Liz" he groaned. "She's been calling all day, I couldn't bear to listen to her for the 30th time since noon... it's about Doula and the pageant..."

"Again?" interrupted Lorelai. "How can she possibly have anything else to say about that? She asks you about it on a near daily basis. She just needs to ride it out man! Kirk... the folks at the Gazette... they'll get bored in the end. The cardboard cutout will come down. She's been living in the Bronx for years for goodness sake! Surely some good old, Stars Hollow, telenovela style drama is nothing in comparison to the hoodlums she would have had to deal with there?! Taylor would have a heart attack weekly there!"

"Well...funny you should mention hoodlums" started Luke " Liz is insane, I agree with you there... but...erm...turns out today, she may have good reason to be freaking out actually. I mean, she created the reason, but still... there's a reason...a hoodlum shaped reason..."

"Luke..." Lorelai cut in "... You're rambling..."

"Right, sorry" he replied "to cut it short... you know what?... you should probably start freaking out too Lorelai..."

Lorelai fixed him with a very confused stare.

He continued "...it would seem that our favourite telenovela may be about to take an even more dramatic turn than usual..."

"Explain, Danes..." Lorelai cried, a mock stern expression gracing her face.

"Well..." began Luke "it turns out, Liz decided it would be a good idea to invite Stars Hollow's favourite bad boy back into town... you know, our rebel without a cause... Take a wild guess... his name rhymes with Tess? ..."

Lorelai's mouth fell open.

"I'm guessing from your reaction you know who I mean...so... well... Yeah... she's invited Jess to sort out her mess for her... yet again...he arrives today...early evening"

Suddenly the penny dropped "ah ha..." said Lorelai "...and we both know who else arrives today don't we?"

"We sure do" replied Luke. "...a certain, blue eyed, butter wouldn't melt, intelligent, beauty of a girl who is always claiming to be related to you, though I struggle to see the resemblance..." he smirked.

She smirked back at him. Then added "well ... all I can say is today sure did get more interesting all of a sudden. This is going to be awkward. Rory is also scheduled to arrive early evening and I told her to meet me here, at the diner! Get ready Danes, looks like this evening's entertainment will be an episode of 'Rory and Jess: the later years.' I for one can't wait" she grimaced "I was such a fan of the early years after all" she added sarcastically.

Luke placed his head in his hands "argh... I smell trouble" he groaned.


End file.
